Pencil pointer



July 26, 1955 F. CONSENTINO PENCIL POINTER Filed Aug. 26, 1954 United States Patent C PENCIL POINTER Felix Consentino, Newmarket, N. H.

Application August 26, 1954, Serial No. 452,381

6 Claims. (Cl. 120-89) This invention relates to a device for pointing pencil leads, particularly those of draftsmens pencils, that is, pencils having a relatively long portion of the lead eX- posed at the working end. Draftsmen must keep their pencils pointed so as to be able to make tine lines on their drawings. This requires frequent repointing of the pencil lead. For this reason it is customary to use either a mechanical pencil consisting of a holder from the end of which a lead projects any desired distance or a conventional pencil having a wooden jacket. In either case it is customary to maintain a considerable length of exposed lead projecting from the holder or jacket so that many repointing operations can be performed without stopping to adjust the lead in a mechanical pencil or to Whittle away more of the jacket of an ordinary pencil. Since the lead itself is ordinarily not mechanically strong, it is necessary to bear gently against the tip of the lead when repointing it so as not to break oit the lead.

According to the present invention, a device is provided which is convenient, quick and effective in repointing a pencil. For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following description thereof and to the drawing, of which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pointing device embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the same, the case being shown in section;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the mechanism shown in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary section on the line 5-5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a detail from Figure 3, showing some parts in a different position; and

Figure 7 is a section on the line 7-7 of Figure 4, on a larger scale. 1

The device embodying the invention has a at base 1t) from the ends of which rise two standards 12 and 14. These standards may be in the form of plates which support a xed horizontal rod 16 extending from one standard to the other. The standards also support a horizontal gear rack 20 which is carried by a bar 22 extending from one standard to the other and rockable in bearings 24 and 26 on the standards. The rod 16 carries a carriage 30 which is slidable thereon. The carriage has a lateral extension 32 which bears on the bar 22 to maintain the carriage in the normal position shown in Figure 3. The carriage 30 has a vertical hollow in which is rotatably maintained a cylindrical pencil holder 34. This holder is adapted to receive a pencil in a vertical position and to permit the exposed lead of the pencil to project down below the holder. The holder 34 has at its lower end a circular series of gear teeth 36 which normally mesh with the teeth of the rack 20 so that when the carriage 30 is reciprocated along the rod 16, the pencil holder rotates about a vertical axis. In order to hold the pencil in proper position M' 2,713,849 ce Patented July 26, 1955 and to grip it for rotation with the holder, a set of spring fingers 40 are mounted on the holder. A casing 42 is preferably mounted on the base 10 to enclose the parts thus far described with the exception of the fingers 40 which project up through a longitudinal slot 44 in the top of the casing 42 above the path of the pencil holder 34.

An elongated member having an abrasive face is movably mounted on the base 10 below the path of the carriage 30. This member may comprise an elongated plate 46 having two brackets 48 extending horizontally from a face thereof. A le 50 is mounted against the other face of the plate 46 by means of screws 52. The long axis of the le is horizontal but the abrasive face of the tile is inclined at an angle to the base 10 which is adjustable by set screws 54 extending through the plate 46. The le 50 is arranged below and parallel to the path of the pencil holder 34 but is movable laterally toward and from this path. For this purpose the plate 46 is connected by means of a pair of parallel links 56 to the base 10 so that when the ile 50 is shifted toward or from the path of a pencil pointer carried by the holder, it maintains the same direction so that in any of its positions its long axis is parallel to the path of the pencil holder. A light leaf spring 60 is pivotally mounted on the base 10 and arranged to press against the abrasive member to hold it yieldingly in a position determined by an adjustable stop member 61 mounted on the base 10 and abutted by the end of the abrasive member. The force of the spring is adjustable by manipulation of a set screw 62 which bears against the spring and projects from the casing 42 so as to be accessible. Further adjustment can be had by means of a screw 63 carried by the plate 46. The spring 60 bears on the head of this screw as shown in Figure 4.

Means for manually retracting the abrasive member from the path of the'pencil point is provided in the form of a lever 64 which is pivotally mounted on the base as at 66 and projects out through the casing 42 to be accessible. This lever has a nose 68 which bears against a projection 70 on one of the brackets 48 so that by manually pressing the exterior portion of the lever 64, the abrasive member is retracted against the pressure of the spring 60 to the position indicated by broken lines in Figure 5. A pencil can then be inserted into the holder with its exposed lead projecting down on a level with the file 50. When the lever 64 is released, the spring 60 presses the tile gently against the pencil lead. Reciprocation of the carriage results in a rotation of the pencil and of the exposed lead which is in contact `with the face of the iile 50. This quickly puts a sharp point on the lead. For convenient manipulation of the carriage the handle members 72 may extend up from the carriage through a slot 44 to be gripped by the fingers.

If a chisel point is desired on the pencil lead, the bar 22 may be rocked to swing the rack out of meshed engagement with the gear teeth 36, as indicated in Figure 6. For this purpose the bar 22 may be made to project through the standard 14 and a suitable handle or lever 76 may be mounted on the projecting portion of the bar. By manipulating the handle 76 the bar can be rocked to move the rack to its inoperative position. To prevent the carriage 34) from slamming against the standards 12 and 14 when it is reciprocated, cushion springs 78 and 80 may be loosely mounted on the rod 16 and bar 22.

I claim:

1. A device of the class described comprising a base, two spaced standards extending up from said base, a horizontal rod extending from one said standard to the other, a gear rack mounted parallel to said rod, a carriage slidable on said rod, a pencil holder rotatably mounted on said carriage, a circular series of gear teeth on said holder adapted to mesh with said rack, an elongated member movably mounted on said base, said member having an abrasive face adjustably inclined with respect to said base, means maintaining said member with its long axis parallel to said rod, said means comprising a pair of parallel links pivotally attached at one end to said member and at the other end to said base, and spring means pressing said member toward the path of a pencil point carried by said holder.

2. A device as in claim 1, and a casing mounted on said base and enclosing rod, rack, carriage and abrasive member, said casing having a slot in its top above the path of said holder to accommodate a pencil carried by said holder during movement thereof.

3. A device as in claim 2, and means projecting from said casing manually operable to retract said abrasive member from the path of a pencil point carried by said holder.

4. A device as in claim 2, and means for adjusting the tension of said spring means.

5. A device as in claim 2, and means projecting from said casing and manually operable to shift said rack from and to meshing engagement with the gear teeth on said holder.

6, A device as in claim 2, and an elongated tray slidably supported on said base beneath the path of said pencil holder to receive particles abraded from pencil leads by said abrasive member.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNiTED STATES PATENTS 426,716 Drake Apr. 29, 1890 547,151 Moseley Oct. 1, 1895 598,770 Cole et al. Feb. 8, 1898 2,615,427 lLehmann Oct. 28, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 298,244 Italy July 2, 1932 138,659 Austria Sept, 10, 1934 

